Month: April 2011

04/10/11

Beating Down on America

The Beats were a group of poets and writers who rejected the lifestyle of the conventional society. The Beats came together in places like New York City, San Francisco, and other college towns. Common beliefs and values endorsed by the Beats were spontaneous behavior, immediate gratification through the use of drugs, and sexual exploration. The Beats were against the transformation of America into a society, whose focus was on work, material consumption of goods and services, and the war-effort. Even though the Cold War advertised that freedom was the defining characteristic of America, the Beats believed individual and political inhibition were more accurate terms in depicting the country.

Many wonderful pieces of literature came out of the Beat Generation. For instance, the novel, On the Road, by the Beat writier, Jack Kerouac, described the nomadic protagonist’s adventures across the country. This book inspired the youth, who also disapproved the traditions of the middle-class but were unable to find a substitutable culture. Another popular Beatnik was Allen Ginsberg, the author of Howl (1955). The book condemned the practice of materialism and submission to popular culture.

04/10/11

Did we run out of kitchens?

This seems to be an old video of the historic “Kitchen Debates” between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev. The debates signaled a slight change in sentiment towards the Soviet Union as well as the Soviet’s politics both domestically and internationally. A few people, including President Eisenhower voiced their opinions about the massive build up of missiles and defenses. Furthermore, after the Soviets successfully tested their hydrogen bomb people became nervous. However in 1958 the two nations stopped testing nuclear weapons as per an agreement. They began to seek “peaceful coexistence.”

04/10/11

Happy Go Spending World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zVUUFBEHss

One of the most important elements of the economic growth in the beginning of the golden age sets back to the rise of residential construction and the spending on consumer goods.  The erupt demand for housing, television sets, home appliances and cars, transpired from a population shift from the cities to the suburbs. As Foner has stated, “By 1960, suburban residents of single-family homes outnumbered urban dwellers and those living in rural areas.”

The film above illustrates the cultural differences from urban and suburban residents; alluding the viewer a cherry image of suburban life with its color motion, where as, depicting the urban life with black and white motion. It also portrays the consumer culture of the time, targeting young adults that derives for the demand of a new kind of marketing. Like the film stated, it was a “happy go spending world.” Shopping malls were created in their image, building in fountains, statues, restaurants and free standing stairways. The stores also included many banks, loan offices and rental plans.

04/10/11

I’m late- but dinner won’t be!

With the rise of television, Americans changed their eating habits from home cooked meals to convenient TV Dinners. In 1954, Swanson introduced TV dinners that were packaged to mirrored the look of a television set, selling over 25 million dinners within their first year. As the ad suggests, it is an “oven-quick meal that taste home cooked.”  The convenience of these TV dinners attracted many Americans, creating a societal norm where Americans leisurely heat up the TV dinners and eat it while watching  TV. This common behavior became a cultural experience that all Americans across the states can share.

Below is a Swanson TV commercial:

04/9/11

Sputnik and the Space Race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbAXkWPasYw

On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first earth satellite into the orbit.  The launch of Sputnik marked the beginning of space race between the U.S and USSR. Many Americans feared that the USSR would be capable of launching ballistic missiles. In response to the launch, the U.S passed the National Defense Education which offered federal funding for higher education. The U.S also started funding for its satellite project to regain their military and technological superiority over USSR, as well as regaining the publics’ confidence. The launch of the Sputnik led to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it also led to several technological advances such as computer science, global communication and satellite navigation.

04/9/11

A Ford For Everyone

During the 1950s, “the standard consumer package” [Foner 878] consisted of a home, television set and a car. The new Ford automobile opened up a new way to enjoy the many freedoms that life had to offer. The Ford symbolized a individual’s freedom and private choice that allowed him or her to travel where ever they please. With the later development of interstate highways, car owners were able to travel long distances for vacations. By the 1960s roughly 80 percent of american families owned a car and 14 percent owned two or more. This soon meant people would be able to commute to and from work everyday, regardless of the distance between them. Songs and advertisements constantly reminded car owners of the many ways to enjoy freedom with the purchase of a car.

This brought about a huge change in the car manufacturing and oil industry. The increasing demand for cars gave jobs to tens of thousands of factory workers and both the oil and auto manufacturing companies boomed. Profits soared as each year brought about a new and more advanced car that would easily go out of style that same year. The video above is just one of the many advertisements that advocated the advancement of the new Ford model car and used the theme of freedom to sell in the consumer market.

04/9/11

I am on your TV…vote for me

War hero President Ike Eisenhower campaign for presidency was the first time presidential commercials were use.  This helped the republicans win win the election, after 20 years of democrats being in office.  This along with Eisenhower promise to clean up the white house. This showed how presidents can not only show the themselves to the people, but how if marketed well, you can become president if you attract voter with advertisement.

04/9/11

Working Women

During World War II most of the men in America went to fight for their country leaving the women behind at home. Women didn’t just stay at home tending to their children they went out working industrial jobs. Women started to work in factories or taking over work on the farm. Since women started to work the famous “Rosie the Riveter” was the symbol for the most common job for women at the time.

After World War II things changed again for women. Most women had lost their jobs in the factories but they still continued to work. The level of employment for women had increased since World War II, working part-time to help support their family. Eric Foner book says “Despite the increasing number of wage earning women, the suburban family’s breadwinner was assumed to be male, while the wife remained at home.” Even though women try hard to work films, Tv shows, and advertisement portrayed that marriage life is the dream for every women.

04/9/11

Martin Luther King- “I have a Dream”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA

Martin Luther King is the most well known civil rights warrior who fought against the racial injustices against black people. King became an active in civil rights campaign during his protest in the Montgomery bus boycott, in which a black woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus. The Montgomery bus boycott inspired King to fight racial inequality with non-violent protests. Consequently, many of Martin Luther King’s speeches and movements emphasize the black citizens as part of America, appeal to Christians with ideas from the bible, and scream for the establishment of freedom for other races.

The most famous speech given by Martin Luther King, “I have a Dream”, echoed the demand of equality and freedom, and envisioned the peace among whites, blacks, and people of other races. King’s speech also indicated that even in the 1960s, racial discrimination carried out by the white majorities and state governments were still prevailing. The same sort of racial suppression still persists even though the Civil War had ended one hundred years ago.

04/8/11

Breaking the rules!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7ut8JV0EbU

This video depicts the actions of brave African Americans who boycotted on buses. One individual who was the driving force of these boycotts was Rosa Parks. According to Foner on December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat on the city bus to a white rider. After is event, there began a year long boycott.

Today, we are reminded of Parks bravery. According to Foner, in 2000 Parks was named one of the 100 most significant people of the twentieth century in Time magazine. Her influence on many African Americans to stand up for their right can not be forgotten. As a result, in November 1956, the supreme court ruled segregation in public transportation unconstitutional ending the boycott in a triumph.

04/7/11

Barbies’ of the 1950s

In chapter 24, Foner discusses American people in  consumerism and freedom of consumer choice in the 1950s. After WWII Americans were desperate for anything, people had the eagerness to buy many things created an economic boom in the U.S. During this time period consumer values dominated the American economy and culture; mass productions of commercials were made to satisfy consumer’s wants and needs. Various commercials appealed people of all ages. Just like now a day advertisements of the 1950s evolved with just anything; automobiles, beverages, toys, the latest fashion trend, and other daily goods. The video footage above is an example of one TV commercial of barbies in the 1950s.

04/6/11

The 1950’s saw the television’s rise in popularity. “By the end of the 1950’s, nearly nine of ten American families owned a TV set.” This drastically changed American life. People started using the TV as a source of information. The job that once belonged to strictly the newspapers was moving on to other formats. America also began using TV as their number one leisure activity. They would watch shows like The Goldbergs, The Honeymooners, and Leave It To Beaver. However, the biggest impact that television had was through its advertisements.

Advertisements were now being seen on a mass scale, due to the amount of TV that was being watched across the country. Without Tivo most people would actually sit through the commercials, and some even found them entertaining. Jack Straus, the chairman of the board of Macy’s said, “The luxuries of today are the necessities of tomorrow.” What this means is that people are starting to think they need goods that were once considered luxuries. America started shifting into a consumer country. People were being “brainwashed” to buy all sorts of things. Items such as Levi’s or Coca-Cola were once items of the rich. Now, the entire population was buying everything they could. They were taking out loans, and buying on credit, both things that were not done before. The TV and advertisements really shifted the way Americans behaved. Above is a clip of a handful of television commercials from the 1950’s and 1960’s. I found them quite interesting. I hope you do as well.

04/6/11

Boom Boom Baby Boom!

During the 1950s many changes began to occur across the nation. The war was over, soldiers were coming home, and businesses started booming. As more skyscrapers were being built, residents were being pushed out to move into the suburbs causing a great rise in suburban communities. Not only was their a rise in the communities, but the average family began increasing and the baby boom occurred.

The average family had 4 children, as women began marrying younger to keep from pre-marital sex. The change in mentality from pre-war to post-war changed the way Americans lived. Feminism was no more and the technological advances such as the barcode and credit cards were invented.

04/6/11

Assignment due 4/11

Read Foner, Chapter 24.

Write a blog post displaying video footage or an image produced during the time period covered in the reading, and which reveals an important aspect of cultural or social change during that time.  Write 1-2 paragraphs relating the source to at least one section of the reading.

04/6/11

Extra Credit

A few people have asked recently about the extra credit assignment that you have an opportunity to complete anytime until the time of your final exam.  It is worth between 1 and 4 points on your final grade depending on the quality and depth of your report.  It is represented in the lecture slides, but very buried and not findable via a search of the site.  So, I thought I would bring it to the surface.  Here is the assignment:

Requirements:

1) visit a site that relates to NYC sometime during this semester (provide ticket stub or some other evidence of visit)
2) Write a 1-4 page essay connecting what you learned at the site to topics and materials covered in this course

Some recommended sites:
–Lower East Side Tenement Museum
–African Burial Ground
–Ellis Island
–Museum of the City of New York
–New-York Historical Society

04/4/11

The Hollywood Ten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nublLQDGbU

In there was a Hollywood blacklist that consisted of  a list of actors, writers, directors, musicians and other entertainers. Their political beliefs and associations, regardless of their validity, caused them to be targets. This blacklist was created around mid 20th century. In 1947, a group of screenwriters and directors were the first to be victims of this blacklist when they chose not to give their testimonies.They were banned from further working in the entertainment industry. It was not until 1960 that the blacklist was thrown away. Because they were banned, we missed out on a decade worth of entertainment. That is 10 years of movies, shows, or of the such that could’ve topped movie charts for centuries to come.

04/4/11

Universal Human Rights

In 1948 Eleanor Roosevelt drafted the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which established the principle that a nation’s treatment of its own citizens should be subject to outside evaluation. Not only people respected her role as First Lady to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but she was one of the most influential member of the UN’s Commission on Human Rights. Article 1)All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2) Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of Article 3)Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person….Not only the American nation welcomed her policies, but it was adapted in most countries all over the world. Also still is being practice today.

04/4/11

Warsaw Pact vs. Nato

After World War 2 the world was seperated into to two parts, half supported the War Saw pact which was formed by the Soviet Union, which also supported Communism, and half was with Nato which was formed by the Americans.  This could have been prevented easily as Communism was a huge factor in causing the wars and major conflicts of the 1940’s and 50’s.  In 1955 when the Warsaw pact was formed, 8 eastern europe communist states were members of the warsaw pact.  Nato which was formed in 1949, still has many members and continues to support democracy around the world.